Archaeologists Unearth Evidence of Alaska’s Russian Colonial Past

The Reconstructed Russian Settlement at Fort Ross California

Archaeologists with the Baranov Museum in Kodiak Alaska have unearthed evidence of Alaska's Russian Colonial past.  The Baranov is a museum of Alaska's Russian Colonial (1741-1867) and early American (1867-1912) history located in Kodiak, Alaska.  According to the Anchorage Daily News, workers   uncovered part of a Russian Colonial era structure on the museum grounds during excavation work for a new retaining wall.  The well preserved wooden planks and rock foundation were similar to artifacts excavated in 2008 when the site was sampled to explore Kodiak’s 200 year old colonial site.   

Americans are accustomed to thinking of our history from an East Coast perspective, not surprising given the location of the first capitol and legacy of British colonial rule.  But by looking to frontier zones we get a different view. Russian settlements in America extended as far south as Fort Ross.  Located about 90 miles north of San Francisco, “Fort Ross was the southernmost settlement in the Russian colonization of the North American continent, and was established as an agricultural base to supply Alaska. It was the site of California's first windmills and shipbuilding, and Russian scientists were among the first to record California's cultural and natural history” according to the California State Parks Fort Ross website. 

The Russian colonization efforts extended from Alaska to California and Hawaii.  The Russian colonial efforts were administered by the Russian-American Company, a mercantile trading company established by the Russian government. The Russian exploration in the North Pacific began in earnest with Vitus Bering’s scientific expeditions between 1728 and 1742.  The natural resources of North America were attractive to the Russians, particularly and the lucrative fur seal and sea otters.  Gregorii Shelikov and I. L. Golikov, recognizing the potential of the fur trade created a permanent settlement on Kodiak Island in what is now Alaska in 1784.  Their company became the Russian-American Company in 1799 when Tsar Paul granted them monopoly control of North America including the right of exploration, control of trade, and to establish settlements. 

Posted in: Alaska,American Archaeology,American History,Archaeology,Fort Ross,Russia Archaeology